Black History Month (February)

You'll learn about the long history of Black pioneers in Alberta right from the founding of our province until 2011.

Students can browse through this online exhibit from the City of Edmonton Museum.

An article that tells the story of Annie Saunders, one of the first people of African descent to live in Alberta.

Trailblazing Black Albertans who are too often hidden in provincial and Canadian narratives. On this site, you'll read the stories of the achievements of Black Albertans

What does it mean to be Black in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba? It is impossible to limit more than 200 years of recorded Black presence on the Prairies to a single definition. This project explores the themes of migration, work, Black & Indigenous relations, resistance, and the future.
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CBC’s Black on the Prairies places Blackness in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba at the centre of the country’s story. The Black experience on the Prairies is a vast landscape that stretches from the lives of early Black settlers and Black people on the Prairies today.

The CBC project Black on the Prairies began with a conversation among colleagues in the spring of 2020. Through five themes — Migration, Putting in Work, Black and Indigenous Relations, Politics and Resistance, and Black to the Future — this project places Black people's experiences at the centre of the Prairie narrative.

This exhibit from the City Museum of Edmonton documents the long history of Black Canadians living in Alberta.

On this site, you'll find a small collection of personal photos that document the lives of Black Canadians in Alberta

Eleanor Collins was the first Canadian woman, the first Alberta woman, and the first Black entertainer in Canada to have her own national television show. This article discusses her many achievements. Video and audio files are included in the article.

This article tells the story of restaurants owned by Black women in Western Canada and how they helped their communities.

Fil Fraser was a pioneering Black Canadian broadcaster, journalist, author, producer, humanitarian, and educator who worked in many parts of Canada, including Alberta.

Filmmaker Cheryl Foggo on her quest to re-examine the mythology surrounding John Ware, the Black cowboy who settled in Alberta, Canada, before the turn of the 20th century. Foggo’s research uncovers who this iconic figure might have been, and what his legacy means in terms of anti-Black racism, both past and present. Note: This film contains explicit language. Viewer discretion is advised.

At the turn of the century, many Black families in Oklahoma wanted to escape the state’s racial violence and discrimination for a new start in Canada’s “Last Best West.” To stem the tide of Black immigration, the government began a secret campaign of disinformation.

This blog post is the second in a series that reference the formation of various communities and social groups within early Calgary.

By happy accident, Senator Paula Simons went to the Amber Valley area recently, she met the Wolska-Chaney family, on their search for their own Amber Valley ancestors. Together, they discovered more than they expected, about Alberta's unique Black history.

This short documentary film documents Amber Valley, one of the first all-Black settlements in Canada. Arriving in 1909, the pioneers of this community battled the elements and racism to not only survive but thrive.

In 1914, Charles Daniels entered a Calgary theatre with a paid ticket. He was denied his seat because he was Black. In this little-known civil rights story, Daniels reminds us that history is full of forgotten heroes.

An article by Alberta Senator Paula Simons that tells the story of Joseph Lewis, a Black voyageur in early Canada, who settled in Alberta before moving to the Red River Colony.

This hour long documentary tells the story of a wave of African American immigrants who moved to Alberta and Saskatchewan between 1905-1912 to escape racism and persecution in the United States.